•Police team recovers unexploded IEDs
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has ordered full-scale investigations into the an attack on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owaluwa in Owo, Ondo State.
The attack was carried out by yet-to-be-identified gunmen at about 11.30am on Sunday 5th June, 2022.
The investigations were ordered by the IGP to bring to book the perpetrators of the gruesome killing of the worshippers at the church.
The IGP further ordered the deployment of specialized operatives of the Police EOD-CBRNE, police experts, and other tactical units from the Force Headquarters for a comprehensive investigation, and for immediate interception of the villains.
The IGP also condemned the brutal murder of innocent Nigerians.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement on Monday, June 6, said that preliminary investigations revealed that the gunmen invaded the church with arms and materials suspected to be explosives.
According to the FPRO, “police Investigators who were part of the first responders deployed to the scene have recovered pellets of expended AK-47 ammunition, while the Explosive Ordnance Devices – Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Explosives (EOD-CBRNE) unit confirmed the use of explosives as fragments of the IEDs used were found and after thorough sweeping of the scene, three unexploded IEDs were recovered at the scene of the incident.
“Further investigations revealed that some of the gunmen disguised as congregants, while other armed men who had positioned themselves around the church premises from different directions, fired into the church.
“The assailants fled the scene using a Nissan Sunny car with registration number AKR 895 AG which was snatched from the owner, and escaped through Owo/Ute road.
“The vehicle has been recovered while the owner of the vehicle is currently assisting the Police in its investigations.”
Adejobi said that the IGP, who condoled with the Ondo State Government, family members, relatives and friends of the victims who lost their lives in the unfortunate attack, equally assured that the heartless killers of the harmless victims, would be made to face the full wrath of the law, while the Force would put in place strategies to forestall similar future occurrences.
